Many people enjoy the companionship of small animals which they allow to share their homes or apartments. These animals are confined to the home environment during most of the day and night because of the inherent dangers facing a small creature in the world just outside its door. This inhome confinement makes it necessary that there be provisions for a facility in which the animal can relieve itself of body waste in a manner agreeable to both the human and the pet. The most widely accepted solution for this necessity is the use of a box or pan containing a small amount of absorbent material in which the anumal can dig around and bury its waste. This system provides the most natural environment in the home for the animal to satisfy its instinct to bury its waste, which encourages the animal to seek out this facility each time it has the need to relieve itself.
Unfortunately, this solution while being adequate for the animal's needs, becomes a disagreeable and time consuming chore for the human because of all the steps required to refresh the cat box using the products available on the market today. It involves dumping the soiled absorbent into a receptacle, cleaning the cat box, and then refilling it from a bulky bag each time the box needs changing. Add to this the use of newspaper to line the box or expensive liners, and the task can take from five to ten minutes to complete.
There are a few inventions which address this situation. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,743,170; 3,745,975; 4,171,680; and 4,271,787. While these inventions offer alternative processes to the present invention, they seem to complicate the chore, offer no time savings, or their cost would overshadow any benefit they offer.